Arts in The NEK

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Created on Thursday, 12 May 2016 14:03

Written by Tim Laroche

THE FUTURE OF ARTS EDUCATION

Clements says that she thinks the future of arts education has its beginnings in the growing maker-space movement.

“It’s the idea where you have a space,” Clements said. “You have technology and tools where kids can make and create and design things. You have power tools, you have saws, you have tools, you have 3D printers, you have all of this stuff for kids that when they have an idea they can make it happen. “

Currently, the Burlington Generator maker-space in Burlington, which has a number of resources for artists to use to build and design their projects, has proven to be a successful model.

The Burlington Generator was founded in 2013 by a group of 11 board members who wanted to create an all-inclusive art space. In 2014, the group opened a pop-up shop in Burlington, and their business has since grown into a fully-functional workshop with 152 members.

The Burlington Generator’s website lists its purpose as: “Generator aims to be a community of collaboration among artists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to foster a fertile environment for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We exist at the intersection of art and technology and offer our community a full suite of tools, workspaces, and education opportunities.”

The maker-space movement merges many of the disciplines in the allied arts into a single, all-inclusive medium.

Clements says that although the all-inclusive maker-spaces may represent the future of allied arts education – and many schools are implementing them in more affluent areas of the country – most educators have not found a way to effectively use them yet.

“I think people are making these maker-spaces but aren’t really sure how to use them,” Clements said. “And kids are not using those skills to make stuff. “

According to Kristin Fontichiaro’s article entitled, “Sustaining a Makerspace,” which appeared in the February 2016 edition of Teacher Library, the makerspace movement, in its present form, contains numerous challenges that educators will have to overcome if they implement it more widely.

For one, she says, many educators attempt to implement these new makerspaces without planning their curriculums around the tools available to them. As a result, educators often do not fully integrate the new materials into their classrooms.

And after years of deemphasized allied arts programs, Clements says, students who do have access to makerspaces may not even have the tactile skills necessary to properly implement them into the curriculum.

“They don’t know how to use saws. They don’t know how to screw something in. They don’t know how to do that building stuff, which they are not getting anymore. They’re not sewing; they’re not fabricating stuff.,” Clements said. “They’re not learning how to put it all together unless they are doing that in the art room.”